MUSIC: Human Sexual Response rises for reunion

It’s been 30 years since Human Sexual Response ruled Boston’s punk-pop-new wave scene. They get back together Saturday, Nov. 10 for a reunion at the House of Blues in Boston.

By Ed Symkus/CORRESPONDENT

Milford Daily News

By Ed Symkus/CORRESPONDENT

Posted Nov. 8, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 8, 2012 at 8:18 AM

By Ed Symkus/CORRESPONDENT

Posted Nov. 8, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 8, 2012 at 8:18 AM

BOSTON

» Social News

It’s been 30 years since Human Sexual Response ruled Boston’s punk-pop-new wave scene. Their songs – including "What Does Sex Mean to Me?" and "Jackie Onassis" were in regular rotation on WBCN and most college radio stations, and the seven-member band – featuring four vocalists – played pretty much every venue in town.

Though band members are living all over the country these days, they’re getting back together, in honor of the long-delayed release of the DVD "Unba Unba: HSR Live 1982," for a performance at House of Blues on Nov. 10.

Larry Bangor, who sang most of the lead vocals, and co-wrote songs with guitarist Rich Gilbert, shared some history of the band and spoke about the upcoming reunion by phone from his home in Manhattan.

"The band grew out of the a cappella group we formed when we were living next door to each other in Brookline," he said.

That group was made up of Bangor, his brother Dini Lamot, Windle Davis, and the sole female member Casey Cameron. They were called Honey Bea and the Meadow Muffins, with Cameron in place as the main singer.

Bangor described their early music as country and western, then explained how they switched to rock.

"Casey called one day and said she had a great idea for a country and western song about a woman who’s plagued by obscene mail," he said. "I thought that was great, and I wrote the song ‘Plain Brown Wrapper.’ We performed it at parties and it went over well. Then we started playing talent shows, and went around to Store 24s and sang in the stores if they’d give us a cookie."

Repeated gigs at Cambridge’s Inn Square Men’s Bar got them to thinking about adding some instruments to the mix.

Because of the songs we were doing, we were attracting mostly country musicians," said Bangor. "But by that time, around 1976, the whole punk rock thing was starting to develop, and that’s what we were excited about. We had to find musicians to do a rock band."

Posters were put up around town, ads were taken out in the alternative press, musician friends of musician friends took notice. By 1977, Human Sexual Response was ready to rock.

So where did the name come from?

"We were searching and searching, throwing around names," said Bangor. "In one of those sessions Casey said Human Sexual Response. It was probably on her mind, because at that time she was working for Little, Brown, and they had published the [Masters and Johnson] book. She said it as a joke, but I said, ‘Yeah, that’s it!’ "

Their first official gig was at the Birdcage, in Boston’s Combat Zone, in October, 1977.

"It was like a biker-stripper club that, for some reason, started having bands," said Bangor, laughing at the memory. "I had seen the Inflictors there and La Peste, the Real Kids. La Peste had heard us rehearsing and said we should get a gig there. But we weren’t ready, we didn’t have the sound yet. They said that it didn’t matter. And they got us that gig."

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Then came slots at Cantone’s and The Space and The Rat, and even BF/VF. There was also that radio support.

"We first got noticed in Boston when we put out a demo tape with ‘Jackie Onassis’ and ‘What Does Sex Mean to Me?’ and ’BCN played it, a lot," said Bangor. "Once that happened, we started getting bigger club dates."

Not just in Boston. They got air play across the country, most notably on KROQ in Los Angeles, which led to gigs at the infamous West Coast venues Madame Wong’s and The Country Club.

The band was flying high, with a well received first album, "Fig. 15," in 1980, to less-enthusiastic reviews, "In a Roman Mood," the following year. But Human Sexual Response broke up in 1982. Asked why, with such a solid fan base and mostly good press, that happened, Bangor answered candidly.

"There are so many factors that can make a difference, it’s hard to say what did or didn’t work. We were an unusual band, and record companies want or wanted something that they knew how to market. It’s always riskier to do something that’s unusual. So that could be it. But a lot of it is just luck of the draw."

Yet the members are all still in touch, and there was a brief reunion in 2008. But now the DVD, with footage shot by then-Boston-based filmmaker Jan Crocker, of a 1982 concert at Streets, is finally being released.

"We originally hired Jan to record a whole set at Streets," recalled Bangor. "Our plan was that we’d release one or two of the cuts as promo videos. But we broke up and it never happened. Some time ago, Jan mentioned to us that he still had all the footage, and would we be interested in putting out a DVD of the whole thing, we said sure. Rich said if we’re putting out the DVD, we might as well do some shows to promote it, so that was how the idea of doing this happened."

Bangor immediately said yes when asked if they would be doing their song "Andy Fell," but wouldn’t commit to the band donning nurse outfits the way they did for their video cover of "Cool Jerk."

Neither would he give a definite yes or no as to whether a new album might come out of the House of Blues gig.

"I’m writing songs, and it’d be a lovely thing to do," he said. "But we’re so dispersed, I just don’t know how we would ever congregate to do it. There are no plans to do one, but I’m not saying that it wouldn’t happen."

Human Sexual response plays at House of Blues in Boston on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25. For info, visit www.houseofblues.com or call 888-693-2583.